Genesis of Gods
by zolontoko
Summary: Eight characters find themselves alone with no recollection of their pasts, and must travel the world, searching for answers and dealing with the many troubles that cross their paths.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is under major development. I recently started writing, and put together an idea that I've had for a long time. If, at any point, something feels off, or as if it should be different, feel free to leave a review or PM me. I am accepting of just about all forms of constructive criticism, and would love to hear your opinions on my story.**

**For now, I do not have any planned schedule for when I may post this. It'll be just about whenever I feel the urge to write, but with summer coming up, I may develop one soon. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Genesis of Gods: Act 1: Awakening

"Find… the crystals…"

The creature began to stir. An average-sized, dark-haired beast, he found himself confused and sore, sitting in the middle of a clearing in a strange forest. Upon looking upward, he noticed that there was an odd lack of branches above him, as if something had forced a path through. Finally, he stood up, looked around for awhile, seeing nothing of note, and yawned.

"Where the hell am I?" he questioned.

A few minutes, and no response.

"Well, I guess I may as well begin looking around. Maybe I can find some sort of civilization, or at least someone."

And with that, he began walking. He had no idea of where he was going, or even if there was somewhere he could go, but he continued forward through the sunlit forest. The trees were just beginning to bloom, and the sun's rays poured through their lush, green leaves.

"Well, at least I'm wandering blindly through somewhere pretty."

* * *

A crash. The roof collapsed, and an unknown object tumbled through the room. A thick layer of dust and rubble covered everything. Voices screamed from unknown locations.

"The castle is being attacked!"

"Where is the king?"

"We must get him to safety, above all else!"

"Who would attack us at this hour? It's the middle of the day!"

"…meh. Could've been flashier, at least."

The dust began to settle.

"Men! Get ready to attack!"

The attacker was revealed.

"On my command, we strike!"

"Um, sir?"

"3…"

"Sir?"

"2…"

"Sir, will you please listen?"

"1…"

"Sir, wai-"

"CHARGE!"

"HE'S ASLEEP!"

The captain's forces halted, now seeing their opponent clearly.

"… Wait, so the man who burst through the roof of His Majesty's council's meeting room, nearly killing all of the people inside in what would have been one of the best assassination attempts in all of history… is SLEEPING?"

* * *

"Oh, this place looks promising."

The beast walked into the strange compound, and attempted to look around, but was stopped by a fist to his face.

A voice called from the distance, "Intruder! Warriors, attack!"

Suddenly, the beast found himself faced with numerous opponents, all out for his blood.

"Oh, just great." He said, deflecting a blow. "Y'know, when I woke up this morning, I wasn't expecting a fist to the face or a combat session!"

Soon, the forces of the forest were upon him. They attacked relentlessly, utilizing everything at their disposal to eliminate him. However, the beast was able to block each attack, responding in turn with his own, quickly taking down the entire army.

"Well anyway, now that that's over, I guess I'll be-"

A loud thud, and the beast was underneath the foot of the great leader of the Forest. Unable to move, the beast realized that his resistance was futile, and so, ceased to resist. Upon closer inspection of his assailant, the beast noticed that the man towering over him was exceptionally tall, and complimented this fact with a very muscular structure. He had dark brown hair that matched his eyes, and spoke with an authority unmatched by anyone the beast had heard before.

"Alright, you got me. Now what, are you going to crush me under your boot like the flea that I am?" he said with a certain mocking 'overall ruler of the world destroy everything in my path' sort of voice.

"Who are you, and what are you doing trespassing in my forest?" replied the assailant.

"I could ask you the same-ACH!"

The leader pushed down into the beast's spine with his foot. "Don't joke around with me, idiot. Who. Are. You."

"… I don't know."

The leader hesitated.

"You don't know?"

"Yup."

"How can you not know who you are?"

"Well, if I knew that, I wouldn't not know who I am, now would I?"

"Hm… I guess you're right. Do you at least know your name?"

"Um…" The beast searched his mind for an answer. "Zodiac, I think."

"Zodiac? What an odd name."

"If the shoe fits. Now if I may ask, who are you, Mr. Heavy-foot?"

"My name," the leader responded, "is Leo. I am the ruler of this clan of forest residents, as determined by the authority of these people who you, surprisingly, managed to defeat. Which brings me to my next question: How did you defeat my army of trained warriors, and even more impressively, come out of such a fight without even a scratch? Who trained you?"

"I don't have a clue who trained me, but I can say that your 'forest warriors' or whatever were pretty pathetic. I mean, if they can't even touch a single intruder, how can you expect them to be able to protect an entire forest?"

The leader began to lift his foot. "Well, if they're so pathetic, then why don't you help me train them?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm asking you to join my clan. You're obviously an able fighter, and don't harbor any malicious intent, so I'm offering my hand in friendship. It's either that, or…" Leo glanced down at his foot. "Understand?"

"Uh… yeah. I guess. Fine, I'll join your 'forest hunters' or whatever it is you call them. However, you don't get to keep stepping on me like that, alright?"

"Sure. Now, would you like to get up so you can help me clean up the mess you made?"

It was at this time that Zodiac realized he was still on the ground. "Erm, no thanks. I think I'll just stay here and leave it to you."

"Hmm… no," Leo picked up Zodiac by the foot and flipped him around onto his feet. "Now get to work."

* * *

"So, what was up with the whole, 'crash through the sky and almost kill the king but then end up not even trying to thing, anyway?" asked the assailant's keeper.

He replied, "Oh, that. Well, I honestly have no clue. However, him leaving me alive afterwards, and also not leaving me to rot in jail, was pretty nice." The white creature replied, finally sitting up after lying down on his cot in the room he was dragged to after his crash. The room was a lot nicer than he expected any sort of infirmary to be; it had a small desk, a door into it's own private washroom, and even a large, luxurious bed that looked like it would put anyone to sleep. But then again, it might just be the nature of these people."

"Well," said his caretaker, "I must admit, it's not entirely out of generosity. You're actually pretty important to his cause."

"What do you mean?"

She inspected this creature in front of her for a bit before responding. He was a little short for his age, but was a skinny young man, with pure white hair and very pale skin. He sat somewhat lurched over, as if he were always tired, wanting to go back to sleep the instant he had a chance.

"Well, there's this prophecy that we've been trying to fulfill for a while now. It states that, in time of great danger, two beings shall arise: one, a being of purest white, and the other, a being with opposing eyes. We believe that you're the white being, considering your hair and pale skin."

"I suppose that explains why he didn't have me executed or jailed. A man of prophecy can't exactly fulfill it from a cell, and certainly not while dead, now would he, miss?"

"Please, call me Jade. And yes, I suppose. Anyway, now that your wounds from the wreckage are all bandaged up, I would assume you'd like a tour of the castle grounds, um…?"

The white one stood up. "Call me…" He racked his brain for any sign of a name. "…Esmond. Sure, let's go." They headed for the door. "After you, Jade."

* * *

"Hey Zodiac, come over here for a minute!" called Leo.

"What for?" Questioned Zodiac.

"I need to show you something."

"It's not the bottom of your foot again, is it? Because I specifically said no more-"

"No, I'm not going to step on you. I just want to show you something."

Zodiac hurried over to Leo's hut, inspecting the enclave that the residents of this forest called their home. There were many huts made of wood and leaves, each of varying sizes. Looking at the surrounding walls, he noticed that, in fact, they were actually just a ton of trees growing very near each other, with a stone cliff face opposite the official entrance. At the base of this cliff was a collection of moss and bark that served as the doorway to the leader's hut. Zodiac finished his trek, and entered. Inside, he found his new leader standing over a stone table, staring at the entrance. "Hey Felix, you should get over here too."

The healer replied, "Ugh, what do you want now, Leo? I'm busy tending to the clan members your new 'friend' beat the crap out of."

"Oh, hush. Just come here already." The leader responded.

"Fine." Felix, the forest healer, stepped out of his hut and into Leo's cave. He was a somewhat tall man, with dark black hair and silver eyes. He walked hastily, as if he were always in a hurry, as he was. "What is it?"

"I'm going to give our friend here a basic lesson on everything he'll need to know to survive life here."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"Oh, well, with you being my most trusted advisor and all, I thought you might be able to cover anything I miss."

"Fine. But if any of my patients suffer from this, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough. Anyway, back to you, Zodiac. By now you realize that you are in the region controlled by the faction called the Forest Warriors, or more commonly, the Forest. I am the leader of this faction. I'm in control of any disputes between members, what each member is to do at what time, and whether or not each member is worthy of staying within my clan. Our rules are simple: do not do any harm towards your fellow warriors, do not cause unnecessary disputes, do not disobey orders from yours truly, and, most importantly, do not betray the clan. Remember these few rules, and you will be welcome here whenever you please. However, if you were to break any of these rules, well… you saw what happened when you first entered our little establishment."

"By the way, about that…" said Zodiac, "Why were you so hostile towards me when I entered? It seems a bit odd that you would attack me on sight when I've never done anything to harm any of you."

"The reason we attacked you?" replied Leo. "Oh, right. Well, the thing is, we've been having a lot of trouble with the kingdom lately. Can't be too careful nowadays, so we had to make sure you weren't a spy. By the way, have I explained to you the layout of our world yet?"

"I don't believe so, no."

"Well, let's do that now." Leo then proceeded to bring out a map showing a selection of different, connected regions, with a few islands here and there. "This is a map showing the official borders of each of the factions of this planet. We are here," he said as he pointed to the green area of the map. "Everywhere within this area belongs to us. You can tell when you are within our borders by the density of the trees, as no matter where you go in this territory, with very few exceptions, is covered with them." He pointed to another area of the map, this time a light blue, and right against the border of the forest. "This area," he said with a bit of a snarl, "belongs to the Kingdom of Zerrent. They have been warring with us for as long as I can remember, and used to constantly stage raids against our people, setting fire to our trees and attacking us on sight."

He grimaced. "I saw many good men die to their foolish raids." He looked back up at Zodiac. "Luckily, with the coming of their new king, we were able to come to an agreement, stating that neither of us two regions are to attack the other, and if any action is taken by the citizens that is not an act of the commanding powers, the leader of that area is to punish the treaty breaker with exile, or any other means that they see fit. This has kept us at peace for two years so far, and hopefully it won't be broken any time soon. However, while passing by, I've been sensing an aura of hate from one of their guards. Anyway, on to the next area."

Leo pointed to the dark red area of the map, on the edges of both the kingdom and forest, "The Thieves. This group, who used to be called the Raiders, has ransacked the kingdom and our forest for years. However, they too recently got a new ruler. Of course, this didn't only lead to a change of name. Their attacks have since become more organized, specifically stealing from vaults and other secret troves, as if trying to destroy our economy, or just for personal gain. Although I have no idea of his motives, I do know that their new leader is a force to be reckoned with, and that you are not to communicate with him-"

"That man," interrupted Felix, "Is pure evil. Ever since he arrived, I could tell that nothing good would come from him rising to power. Be warned, Zodiac. Do not interact with that man. All he brings is misery!" he stopped, shocked by his own display of emotion towards the topic.

Both Leo and Zodiac hesitated, shocked by the hostility in the healer's words. "Anyway…" said Leo, trying to distract Felix from his sudden hatred towards the leader of the Thieves, "umm… why don't you go take care of those patients you were talking about earlier. Maybe it'll help you calm down a bit."

"Yes, uh, that would probably be best. Sorry about that." Felix exited the cave, and returned to his hut.

"Well, that was awkward." Stated Zodiac.

"Yeah… I've never seen him act like that. I wonder what got into him." Replied Leo.

"Well anyway, as you were saying, about the map, or whatever it was."

"Oh, right. That." Leo redirected his gaze towards the map on the table. "This last area is the land owned by the desert tribes. They don't bother us much, and don't really do anything, so don't worry about them." Leo spoke hastily and unfocused, as if trying to end the conversation as quickly as he could. "Any questions?"

"Actually, I would like to know-"

"Great. I'll see you later!" Finished the leader as he hurried his way out of the cave and towards Felix's hut.

"Hey wait, what about basic survival skills? What to do if I run into a member of another faction? I still have a ton of questions for-damn. Well, I guess I'll ask him later. For now, I'll just walk around the grounds, see if I can't make any new friends."

Zodiac headed for the exit, when he felt a sudden, sharp pain. Looking down, he saw a large wooden stick protruding from his lower abdomen, and remembered that he hadn't checked with the village healer to see if everything was o.k. "Or maybe I'll head over to the medic to get this removed. Yeah, that sounds good."

* * *

"Where to next?" Questioned Esmond. He had already been taken by Jade to the throne room, where he met the King and his court, apologizing for almost killing them; the barracks, where he met the guards and their captain, Jonathan, who threatened him immediately; and the courtyard, where the two sat down for a pleasant lunch before continuing their tour.

"You'll see." Jade replied, not really answering his question. "But, when we get there, I'd suggest keeping your head low and not touching anything. This next place can be a bit… dangerous." The last sentence was spoken with an air of caution around it, and left Esmond a bit alarmed.

Soon the pair arrived in front of a locked metal door, covered with all sorts of locks and contraptions, and a small keypad beside it, as well as a doorbell, which Jade pressed as soon as they arrived.

A loudspeaker above the door turned on. "WHAT?!" it asked with a sense of irritation.

Jade pressed a button, and began speaking into a microphone. "It's me, Jade. I have a guest. May we come in?"

Suddenly the sound of gears whirring and locks unlocking began, and before either of the two could react, the door slammed into Esmond, and a man stood in the doorway.

The man, wearing a long, charred lab-coat, huge goggles that he wrapped around his forehead, and sporting messy orange hair, spoke, "Sure, come in. Just make sure your guest, wherever he is, doesn't do anything stupid."

Esmond finally recovered from the sudden assault from the door, and followed Jade inside. When he entered, he could immediately tell that this room was different from the rest of the castle. The walls, floor, and roof were all made of metal, which was dotted randomly with scorch marks. Everywhere he looked there was a strange machine, some large, some small, some oddly shaped, some on pedestals; each looked hundreds, maybe thousands of years ahead of it's time.

"So, who are you, anyway? Some sort of engineer?" Asked Esmond, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yes. I'm also one of the king's advisors, in charge of surveillance, the kingdom scientist, the first man to walk on our moon, and many, many more things. But you can call me Aurora. And you are?"

"I'm Esmond. I recently fell out of the sky and almost killed the King, but was rewarded with hospitality and a place to stay. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, so that was you. By the way, I gave you a 6 for the entrance, a 2 for the landing, and a complete 0 for the finish. Honestly, if you're going to destroy property, at least do so with a bit of class. Anyway, welcome to my lab. This is the place where I both create and test all of my latest inventions, as well as manage the security of the town. Any questions?"

"Actually, I do have a-"

"Good. Now get out. I recently devised a new demolition device, and don't want anyone's lives on my hands. Too much paperwork. Goodbye!" Aurora explained, all while pushing Esmond and Jade out of his lab, and afterwords, he slammed and relocked the massive door.

"So, that was Aurora." Concluded Jade. A loud explosion was heard from inside the lab, and smoke began to seep through the cracks underneath the door. "Let's get out of here before something blows through that door again."

* * *

As Zodiac headed towards the infirmary, he heard a dispute coming from inside.

_Sounds like Leo and that, man... Felix, I think. They must be discussing Felix's emotional outburst from earlier._

"What the hell was that, Felix? Why would you get so worked up over something like that?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I heard the mention of their leader, and I guess I just... snapped."

"Look, I'm not sure why you seem so hostile towards the leader of those thieves. Yes, they attack us every now and then, but that's still no reason to have a fit just at the mention of him!"

"I apologize. It won't happen again."

"Alright." A short pause. "Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. Get some rest, you'll need it to continue being our doctor. I'll come by later and check up on you."

"Thanks, Leo."

"No problem." As Leo exited the hut, he bumped into Zodiac, who was knocked over by the sudden force. "What the- Zodiac? What are you doing here?"

"I still had a few questions, and I also thought I might get this-" He gestured towards the wooden pole sticking out of his torso, "-checked out."

"Oh, my. Yes, that's probably a good idea. Felix! We have a new patient for you!"

"Come on, I was just about to go to sleep!" grumbled the medic as he walked towards the entrance. "What is it-OH MY LORD WHAT IS THAT! Come on, let's get you inside and fixed up. Honestly, how do these things happen?" His voice trailed off as he rushed Zodiac inside to get bandaged up. Leo just stood there, smirking a little, as he saw his friend freak out and hurry his new patient inside.

"You're as determined as ever, old friend." He spoke to himself. He then looked away, a more serious look upon his face. "I should be, too. We've got a long feud ahead of us, and I can feel something big is about to happen." The leader retired to his hut.

* * *

"Next," said Jade, "Let's go out to the town, see if we can't find something to do."

"Sounds fine. Shall we?" Esmond motioned towards the gate, and the two were about to exit when a guard stopped them.

"Are you going out, milady?" asked the guard.

"Yes. I'm taking my guest out to see the city, and perhaps learn about the neighbouring regions."

"My apologies, miss. Be on our way. And do be careful."

The man and his guide continued forward, walking through the streets, seeing all sorts of interesting buildings and people, going to shops, eating at small restaurants and snack shops, and essentially going on a date, although neither of them realized it. Finally, they arrived at the boundary of the forest.

"And here we are. This is the boundary between our kingdom and the neighbouring forest. You know," Jade said, "we used to have great relations with the forest. They would give us building materials and help us against the thieves, and in return we would give them new ideas and technology and help them out as well. But recently, something's changed. All of a sudden they grew hostile on us. There are rumors going around that a group of guards went in once uninvited and attacked them for no reason, but none of the guards have ever been missing. Something just... seems off about the whole thing." As she said this, Jade's vision began drifting into the forest, as if searching for some answer as to their recent hostility.

"Hm. Well, it seems as though there's nothing we can do about it at the moment. I'll try suggesting something to the king, but..." Esmond began to look at Jade. She was still absolutely transfixed by the forest, and not paying any attention to what he was saying. He nudged her. "Umm, Jade? Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. It's nothing, don't worry about it. Anyway, where were we headed next?"

"Back to the castle, I believe. It's getting a bit dark out."

"Oh, alright. Yeah, that seems like a good idea. Let's go." The two headed back to the castle, and away from the darkening forest.

* * *

"There, all patched up." Said Felix. "Go along now, explore the place, meet some new friends, and talk to Leo again when you're ready to do some work. Bye now!" The healer headed back into his hut, hanging up a 'Closed' sign on the door.

"Man, that was quick," said the newly bandaged Zodiac. "It was as if he was used to pulling spears out of people. Weird." He looked around the clearing where the forest people resided, looking for something to do, someone to interact with. Soon enough, and with a good amount of surveying, he came across an odd sight. A young man, maybe 18, was shoved forcefully out of the main hut. He had a small figure and black hair, and looked distressed. Zodiac began walking over, hoping to help, when he saw three others emerge from the hut and start saying something to the boy. After what looked like a feeble response from the now scared-looking man, they conversed among themselves, and one of them picked him up. The three now began walking towards the entrance, the young man in tow. Zodiac intercepted their departure, however.

"Hey, get outta our way!" said one of the thugs.

"Why are you dragging that boy out of here?" replied Zodiac, calmly.

"That's none of your business, newbie." another stepped forward, towering over Zodiac.

"I'm part of the clan now, so it IS my business. What are you planning on doing with that boy?"

"Should we tell 'im?" asked the third thug, seeming a bit cautious.

"Nah, I think we should just bring him along," said the tall one. "Same way we are this young'in. Get him!" at his command, the other two lunged at Zodiac, looking to attack.

"I was hoping you'd say that," said Zodiac under his breath as he prepared to fight. He proceeded to then jump out of the way of their first attack, flipping over them and sending them tumbling. The two got back up immediately, and headed straight back again for him. but he was prepared this time. He weaved his way in between his two assailants, grabbing one by the arm and swinging him into the other, and sending them both flying into a tree. "Well, that takes care of that. Now for you," he said, clapping the dust off of his hands and turning to the third thug. "Ready?"

The third thug, enraged at the indifference of this smaller being, skipped the words and charged straight at Zodiac.

"Come on, don't you know this doesn't work?" Zodiac asked as he ducked underneath the attack, pushing his legs up in time to fling the third attacker off of the ground and into the roof of a neighbouring hut, sliding down after what sounded like a pretty big crack. "Ooh, that didn't sound good. But at least we know those huts are pretty sturdy." Zodiac stopped surveying the wondrous design of the hut that thug had recently broken something on and turned to the person he had just saved. "So what was up with that? What happened?"

"Oh, um..." The small boy looked up at Zodiac, surprised that he was able to so easily defeat the three bullies who had been torturing him throughout the night. He spoke very quietly and shyly, as if he were speaking to a complete and utter stranger. "I'm not exactly sure. They were bugging me all night, and I told them to stop, so one of them got up and grabbed me by the hair, pulling me to the entrance. That was when he threw me out, and they started saying something... I couldn't hear what, though. They then picked me up, and were taking me somewhere, and that's when you stepped in. Oh! Thanks, by the way!" He was standing up by now, and bowed down a bit while thanking his savior.

Zodiac laughed a bit at this gesture, and the young man looked up, confused. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh," said the newly crowned hero. "I just find it a bit funny that you're all tense right now. Loosen up! I didn't save you just to be your next attacker!"

"Oh, sorry, it's just that-"

"What, nobody's ever helped you before?"

"No, but nobody's really been... nice to me before. outside of the medic and leader, that is, and I think they're just like that because they're sorry for me."

"Why would they be sorry for you? Because you're picked on?"

"Well, sort of. You see, the reason behind those guys-" he motioned towards the unconscious assailants from earlier, "-teasing me is because I'm pretty useless. At everything."

"Well that can't be true! Being useless at EVERYTHING is nearly impossible."

"Okay, well, everything that would make me a useful resident here."

"And why would that be?"

"I didn't tell you yet?"

Zodiac shook his head.

"Oh, sorry about that. You see, I was born a bit odd. My parents thought I was just being weird, but by the time I grew up a bit, everyone realized that I was born with a bit of a defect. I can't see or hear anything to one side, even though the other side works perfectly normally. Because of that, I'm unable to react or listen on that side, so I'm pretty useless at everything I'm assigned."

"And Leo hasn't tried finding anything else for you?"

"Oh no, he's tried everything. But because of my little problem, I screwed all of them up, so all I can really do now is try to be a messenger for the leader. Even that's hard, though, because everyone looks so menacing, and I'm afraid that they're not going to listen to me, or even hurt me." Zodiac couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at this kid's complete lack of self-confidence. "What's so funny?"

Zodiac eased his laughter a bit, speaking again. "I'm sorry, it's just so odd that you're so shy all the time. If you don't treat yourself with respect, and stand up for yourself, they'll never change how the see you. Come on, kid! Don't look so hopeless, or they'll start believing that you are!"

The young man looked absolutely horrified at the thought of standing up to the people who had been mocking him for years. "But, how would I ever do that? I've never stood up to anyone before, and even if I did, they'd just beat me up again!"

"Well, then I'll help you out. I can teach you a few things about looking more confident, and in case you end up in a situation like this one again, I can show you how to retaliate and get out of there. But, you have to start believing in yourself, too. Got it?" The young man nodded at him. "Good. Now, what's your name?"

The young man mumbled something completely incoherent.

"What was that? Speak up!"

"James, sir!" yelled the young man, although even his yelling was barely louder than a normal voice.

"Alright, James," said Zodiac. "Call me Zodiac. And starting tomorrow, I'm going to teach you how to be a person!"

* * *

"Here we are again." Jade and Esmond arrived at the castle once more, this time very late at night. At this time it was illuminated beautifully, the lights around it made to match the night sky behind it. "Shall we head in, and call it for the night?"

"Sure, but..." Began Esmond.

"What is it?"

"Um... I don't exactly, uh..."

"Hm?"

"Have a place to... sleep."

"Oh. Well, there's a vacant room near mine. We use it as a guest room for when any of the dukes visit, and I'm sure it'll be fine if you stay there for a while."

"Oh, great! But wait, where's your room?"

It was at this point that Jade realized that she had never told her friend what her position was. "Oh, right. Well, you know that room you were in earlier, that you woke up in?"

"Oh, the infirmary?"

"That's not the infirmary. The cot was dragged in because I know a bit about medicine, but that's actually my room."

"I was wondering why there was such a huge bed in there. But wait, why do you have a room right by where the dukes stay, and why would you..."

"I'm kind of the princess of this castle." At this statement, poof immediately grabbed the nearest glass of water (A servant just happened to pass by with a tray), drank a bit of the water, and proceeded to spit it out in surprise.

"The PRINCESS? As in, the king's DAUGHTER?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah." she replied.

"Well, I guess that explains a lot. Such as the giant bed and personal washroom, ability to move freely throughout the castle, and recognition by just about everyone, including the captain of the guard and that guy by the entrance. Still, it would have been nice to know that the DAUGHTER TO THE DAMN KING AND PROBABLY (by the looks of it) HIS ONLY POSSIBLE HEIR!"

"Sorry, I guess it just slipped my mind."

"You could have gotten kidnapped! Or killed! Do you have any idea what would've happened then? TOTAL PANIC, that's what! I would have probably been framed for murder and treason, and be executed myself! I can't believe that the Princess would do something so absolutely crazy and-"

"While maybe I just wanted to be treated like a normal person for once and not some idol!" Jade interrupted Esmond in the middle of his rant. "Maybe I was sick and tired of everyone always telling me how I'm some role model! That I had to always be on my best behavior! Hell, I have to wear a hooded cloak just to go outside so I don't get mugged, or interrupted, or asked for a favor, or whatever!" She finished, somewhat out of breath.

There was a long pause before Esmond responded. "...I'm sorry."

"It's alright." The princess had calmed down a bit now, and was able to think clearly again. "I'll be fine. I guess I just needed to talk to someone about it."

"Yeah. Anyway, We should really get to sleep soon." Esmond said, realizing how tired he really was, and desperate for sleep. "Can you show me to my room?"

"Right, sure." The two walked down the hall and up the multiple flights of stairs to get to the floor where their chambers resided. Jade walked Esmond down the hall, and pointed him towards the door on the left. "Here we are. This is your room. It's got everything you saw in mine: closet, washroom, giant bed, and the like." She began walking towards her own room. "See you tomo-"

She was interrupted as she felt something wrap around her from behind. Esmond had walked up and embraced her.

"You don't need to worry about me being like the rest of those people. Princess or no, you're still a human being, and should be treated as such. And," he let go for a moment, allowing her to turn around. "If you ever need to work out any more issues, or talk about anything at all, I'm right across the hall. Okay?"

Jade stood there, speechless. She hugged him back, her eyes beginning to water, and said, "Thank you, Esmond. I'll make sure to. Now," She let go, and began to head back to her room. "Get some sleep. You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"I will. Good night." Esmond walked into his room, surveying it. Jade was right, it had all of the features of her room, although with a smaller bed, windows, and a bit more bland of a wall color. But he couldn't care less. So long as there was a comfortable bed, he was perfectly fine with whatever condition the room was in. Soon enough, he had jumped onto the bed, face-first and all of his clothes still on, and fell asleep.

* * *

Zodiac was wandering through the forest, somewhat late at night, and pondering what had just happened. In the first day since he woke up, he's already fought and defeated a small army, joined into said army, learned everything he needed to know about the planet, gotten a branch removed from his stomach, and saved someone's life.

_ Man, what an over-achiever,_ he thought to himself. He looked up, and found he was standing in a small clearing, being able to look at the sky.

"A full moon," he said. "It's beautiful."

The moon, a clear white, was floating up above him, entrancing him. The stars danced around it's surface, glistening through the night sky. Soon enough, unbeknownst to the fact that he had continued to walk forward, following the moon and stars as they travelled across the sky, he had walked straight out of the forest and was stopped only by the sensation of rough sand beneath his feet. Looking down, he saw that the grass of the forest had been replaced with red sand, and the trees by large stone wreckage scattered throughout. Looking back, he saw that he had long left behind the comfort of the trees, and could see them no longer.

_Oh, great. _He decided that the best course of action would be to trudge forward, past the menacing shapes of the stone structures, and onward into the ever-expanding desert.

* * *

Daylight broke over the red-sanded desert, and Zodiac quickly began to feel the heat. He trudged on, hoping to find something to rest under, or people to give him some shelter. He contemplated turning back to the forest, but it was miles away by now, and he would surely die before finding his way back.

Soon enough, Zodiac came across what looked like an encampment. It was hard to see from where he was, and it may not have been inhabited; Tiger did warn him about nomads in a desert. He headed towards the encampment, looking to see if there were any people nearby that would help or harm him, and soon enough came before it.

"Looks deserted, so far," he said, standing in the middle of these large tents. "Guess I'll look around for somewhere to rest, maybe get some water."

He looked again, spotting the biggest tent he could find, and went for it. Chiefs usually have the biggest living spaces, as well as supplies, so it only made sense. He opened the curtain to find, instead of water and an empty hut, two people lying down in nearby sleeping bags. Had someone already found this deserted place, or worse, had it never been deserted? Zodiac decided to slowly creep his way back outside the tent, and took refuge under a large stone structure in the middle of the encampment, getting shade from the blazing sun. He turned to start heading out, and try to head back to the forest, but was met instead with a light-haired face. "GAH!" Zodiac screamed as he leapt back.

"Shhh," whispered the face, which Zodiac now saw to be a full person. "You do NOT want to wake up Luke before he's ready. Who are you, anyway?" Zodiac now saw the person to be one of the two in sleeping bags from earlier, and stood up.

"I'm one of the people from the forest," whispered Zodiac. "I must have stumbled into this place, wherever it is. And you?"

"My name's Yomiko. I just so happen to be second in command in the Order of Thieves, whose base camp you are currently in."

At this comment, Zodiac turned completely pale, remembering Felix and Leo's advice on the thieves. Though this one in front of him didn't seem very mean or nasty, he was sure it was just a matter of time before the rest woke up.

"Ok, look. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, and I'm sorry for what I'm about to ask, but would you mind taking me...anywhere other than here? I would prefer not to die today."

"Oh, no, Luke wouldn't order you dead. Unless you called him 'Luke.' Or 'Loon.' Or really anything other than Lucien."

A voice came from inside the large hut. "Hey! Yomiko!" It was a booming voice, somewhat deep and very menacing, and it sent chills down Zodiac's spine.

"Yes, Luke?" Responded Yomiko, ignoring his own advice.

"SHHHH!" Zodiac whispered harshly at Yomiko, hoping that the thief will remember that he's not supposed to be there.

"Where are you, and who are you talking to?"

"I'm outside by the fountain! There's a person here who says he's from the-MPH!" Yomiko was interrupted by Zodiac, who had covered his mouth. "What was that for?"

"Will you be quiet? I'm not supposed to be here, remember?" whispered Zodiac, scolding Yomiko.

"Oh, don't worry. As long as I say you're okay, I'm pretty sure he won't kill you."

"Pretty sure?"

"What was that?" yelled out the voice again.

"I said I'm outside, by the fountain, with someone from the forest!"

The bearer of the voice finally made an appearance, stepping out of his hut. He wore a dark jacket that went down to his feet, black pants and hiking boots, and a black shirt. His hair, too, was pitch black, and overall he looked very similar to Felix, but with blood-red eyes. On his back was a large scythe, modified for battle.

"A forest dweller? Out here? We haven't had one of those since that new leader of theirs came to power. Let me look at him." Yomiko pulled Zodiac out from behind the fountain and shoved him towards 'Luke.' "Hmm." Lucien inspected Zodiac, darting around him, lifting limbs, tilting his head, and making Zodiac feel thoroughly uncomfortable. "Yes, alright. What's your name?"

"Z-Zodiac." he stumbled, terrified.

"Zodiac... hmm... where do I know that name from?" Lucien was drifting a little, but snapped his head back to Zodiac. "How did you get here?"

"I-I, um, I was hunting... in the forest, I mean. It got dark, I got lost, and fell out through the trees. I stumbled through the desert for a while, the whole night, and eventually saw this camp." Zodiac remembered why he had gone to this camp in the first place. "By the way, do you have any water around here? I was traveling through the desert for a really long time."

"Oh, yeah, sure. But later. First, a few more questions. What were you doing when the two beams of light appeared?"

"What beams of light?"

"The ones in the sky. They landed in two regions. They were huge, bright, and appeared somewhat destructive. They showed up three days ago, and then disappeared."

Zodiac thought for a while before responding. "I can't remember. I must have hit my head or something, because honestly, I can't remember anything from before that time."

"Really?" Lucien seemed shocked, his eyes widening, and he turned away. "Alright, that will be all. You have five minutes to leave before the rest of the thieves wake up. They do not respond well to intruders, and I will do nothing to stop them if they attack you. In fact, I may join in. Do not take my slight compliance of Yomiko's wishes to not have you killed immediately as kindness, or acceptance that you are here. Thank you for your cooperation, and get the hell out of my camp."

"But what about the wat-"

Lucien turned around, glaring at Zodiac, his eyes burning through his head.

"You have four minutes. I suggest you get out of here before I lose my patience and wake my men up early."

"Y-Yes sir!" Zodiac immediately turned around, dashing through the desert, hoping to find the forest once again.

* * *

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Esmond stirred from his sleep to find Jade standing over him, shaking his shoulders.

"Wake up, Esmond! It's already noon! You're late!"

Jade walked away, and began doing something. Esmond continued to look at the ceiling, still groggy and wondering where he was.

"Ugh... where am I?" Asked the still half-asleep Esmond.

"You're in your room, in the castle, and you need to get up already! You're late for the meeting!"

"I don't do meetings," said the sleeper. "Tell them I'm not going to be there."

"Tell them yourself," replied Jade. "I'll pull you out of bed if I have to."

"Ehhh..." grumbled Esmond.

Jade then stopped whatever it was she was doing, grabbed him by the legs, and yanked him out of bed, displacing his covers, and throwing all of the things on his bed across the room.

Esmond, recovering from this recent shock, rubbed his head and looked up at his assailant. "Oww... What the hell, Jade? That hurt! I could've dislocated a shoulder!"

"But you didn't. Now get up, you've got a meeting with the king."

At this, Esmond jumped up, throwing on some clothes and sprucing himself up for his first meeting with the king since he crashed through the roof.

"Wait a minute," he questioned, "Where did all of these clothes come from? and this brush?"

"You were asleep for a really long time, so a few servants came in and got you some clothes, as well as everything you'll need for your time with us."

"Wait, they got me clothes? How did they know what size I was?"

"They checked the clothes you passed out in, recorded the measurements, and bought some new ones. More fitting for your new position."

"New position?"

"Didn't you know? You're going to be made a noble, equal in stature to the king's son, if he had one."

"Is that what the meeting is about?"

"Most likely. That, and discussing why you weren't just thrown in jail."

"Well, I'd better get down there. See ya!" With that, Esmond rushed out of the room and down the hall, leaving Jade bewildered.

"Wow, what a change. One minute he was lying in bed asleep, and now he's rushing down with speed that would make the guard jealous." Jade muttered to herself.

* * *

"Yes, my liege?" asked Esmond, now out of breath.

"Ah, finally! Hello, Esmond, it's nice to finally see you outside of rubble." replied the king, who was sitting in his throne.

"Right, sorry about that. How are the repairs going?"

"They're coming along well. But that's not what I brought you here to talk about."

"Then what do you need, my king?"

"Oh please, stop being so formal! Just call me Al, or Alex, if it pleases you. I brought you here to speak about your future in this kingdom, and to clear a few things up. First, do you have any questions?"

"Yes, I do. I was mainly wondering, after I crashed through your roof, almost killing you and your court, why was I not thrown directly into jail, or more likely, executed?"

"Ah, yes, about that," replied the king. "I'm sure you've heard something about a prophecy during your adventures through the town?"

Esmond thought back to his time going through the town, and further, remembering that Jade had told him about a prophecy soon after he woke up. "Yes, I remember hearing something about that."

"Well, that prophecy explains your question. You see, that same prophecy has been in place for several hundred years, but has never been fulfilled." The king stood up, and began walking over to a fancily engraved wall. "It states that two beings shall come into our world. One shall have eyes that oppose each other, and the other," he said, looking to Esmond, "is a being of purest white."

"So, because I've got white hair and pale skin, that leads you to believe that I may be the second being?"

"Precisely. And the reason you are so important lies in the second half." The king turned back to the wall. "It states that 'these two beings shall come together to defeat a great evil that has plagued our world before.' That, most likely, is referring to the ancient beings known now as 'Dargons.' Do you follow?" He turned once more to Esmond.

"Yes, mostly. But what I don't know of are these 'Dargons,' as you called them. What relevance do they have in all of this?"

"It makes sense that you don't know what they are. Nobody in the kingdom does, with the exception of this castle. The Dargons are ancient beings that once ruled over this planet. Nobody knows where they had come from, but it is told that they were extremely powerful. They defeated legions with a swipe of their claws, and took power as terrible beings, bringing in dragons from the mountainous region to help keep order. It was a terrible existence. The dragons treated our people like slaves, forcing them to work on huge statues in honor of the Dargons. However, all of a sudden, the Dargons disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Nobody, not even the dragons, saw them go, but the humans knew now that they had a chance. Led by four major leaders, the people separated into military groups and took up arms against the dragons that were left, slaughtering them with the statues that the people had been forced to build. Soon, the dragons fled oce again to the mountains, never to return. The people began a period of peace, working together to rebuild what the Dargons had taken away from them. Each leader took their group and travelled to different regions, which we know today as the desert, the Thieves, the Forest, and our Kingdom. The lands prospered without the presence of dragons, and every single citizen was happy."

The king paused, prompting Esmond to speak. "So, about this prophecy..."

"Right. Of course. What do you need to know?" asked the king.

"Have you found the other person? The one with the eyes?"

"I believe so, yes. This particular gentleman lives in a neighbouring kingdom, and should be arriving to visit us right about now! There he is!" A tall man was standing at the entrance to the throne room, staring at Esmond. His attire was a bit odd, sporting a black dress shirt and pants topped by a dark red coat, with a fedora of similar color. His hair was a dirty blonde, and his eyes were blue and red, so it was no doubt that he was an able candidate for the other savior. "Hello, come on in!" The man advanced into the room, bumping into Esmond as he walked by, as if on purpose.

"Hello, your Majesty! How are you this afternoon? Everything is well, I would hope?" His voice was very sly, and he spoke with a tone of superiority.

"Yes, of course! I am well. I hope you've already acquainted yourself with the castle? No rough spots on your way to the castle?"

"I have, and only one. We ran into a few bandits, probably runaways from that group of thieves. We took care of them easily, but I would suggest you do something about that leader of theirs. He's becoming quite dangerous."

"That is unfortunate, but I won't start anything immediately. I can have a talk with him about his men's behavior, if that would satisfy you."

"It would. Thank you." The man looked over at Esmond. "And who is this young fellow with the white hair? A friend of yours?"

"Somewhat," replied the King. "He crashed into my meeting room a few days ago, when those pillars of light appeared. I would have had him arrested immediately, but looking at him closely, I believe he may be one of the two from this prophecy," he said, motioning towards the wall. "Hopefully he will be able to defe-"

The man was chuckling by now, and interrupted the king. "You truly believe him to be a man of prophecy?"

The king stood, looking at him, astonished. "Yes, I do. Why, do you have doubts regarding my decision?"

"Well, I mean..." The man was at a loss of words, flustered and intimidated by the king. "No, it's just... he seems a bit... small."

"Hm." The king backed away from him, turning to look again at Esmond. " I guess you have a bit of a point there, but I have no doubt he will be able to help us. Now, since that's out of the way..."

"Um, sir?" The king had stepped closer to Esmond, glaring at Lance over him. Esmond had been backing down a bit, but now stood back up, looking at the king. "You still haven't really introduced us."

"Hm? Oh, yes. Well, you're fully capable of saying your own names. Introduce yourselves, I have work to do!" The king replied, exiting the room.

The two left stood there for a moment before turning to each other. "I'm Esmond. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"And I," said the man, "Am Lance. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, before you leave," Esmond had begun to walk out, but Lance grabbed him by the arm. "I noticed that the king has taken quite a liking to you. I would like you to know that I have been trying to gain his fortune for years, and if anyone, and I mean anyone," he moved slowly closer to Esmond, glaring a hole through his skull, "gets in my way, they WILL regret it. Understand?"

"Y-yes, I believe so." On this, Lance let go of Esmond, and began to exit.

"Good." confirmed Lance. "Goodbye, Mr. Hero." With this, He disappeared into the castle, leaving Esmond, shivering, in the hallway, and wondering what his next move would be from here.

* * *

After stumbling through the desert for what felt like a few hours, Zodiac finally caught a glimpse of some vegetation in the distance. "Finally," he thought, as he stumbled over, hoping to re-enter his forest. "Shade..." Dehydrated and exhausted, he broke through the line of trees and into the now familiar forest. He continued to tumble through the forest, heading whatever way he thought would return him to the encampment. In what felt like an instant, the sun grew to be high in the sky, and he, not looking where he was going, tripped on a stray branch and toppled into a clearing.


	2. Chapter 2

Zodiac was wandering through the forest, somewhat late at night, and pondering what had just happened. In the first day since he woke up, he's already fought and defeated a small army, joined into said army, learned everything he needed to know about the planet, gotten a branch removed from his stomach, and saved someone's life.

_Man, what an over-achiever,_ he thought to himself. He looked up, and found he was standing in a small clearing, being able to look at the sky.

"A full moon," he said. "It's beautiful."

The moon, a clear white, was floating up above him, entrancing him. The stars danced around it's surface, glistening through the night sky. Soon enough, unbeknownst to the fact that he had continued to walk forward, following the moon and stars as they travelled across the sky, he had walked straight out of the forest and was stopped only by the sensation of rough sand beneath his feet. Looking down, he saw that the grass of the forest had been replaced with red sand, and the trees by large stone wreckage scattered throughout. Looking back, he saw that he had long left behind the comfort of the trees, and could see them no longer.

_Oh, great. _He decided that the best course of action would be to trudge forward, past the menacing shapes of the stone structures, and onward into the ever-expanding desert.

* * *

Daylight broke over the red-sanded desert, and Zodiac quickly began to feel the heat. He trudged on, hoping to find something to rest under, or people to give him some shelter. He contemplated turning back to the forest, but it was miles away by now, and he would surely die before finding his way back.

Soon enough, Zodiac came across what looked like an encampment. It was hard to see from where he was, and it may not have been inhabited; Tiger did warn him about nomads in a desert. He headed towards the encampment, looking to see if there were any people nearby that would help or harm him, and soon enough came before it.

"Looks deserted, so far," he said, standing in the middle of these large tents. "Guess I'll look around for somewhere to rest, maybe get some water."

He looked again, spotting the biggest tent he could find, and went for it. Chiefs usually have the biggest living spaces, as well as supplies, so it only made sense. He opened the curtain to find, instead of water and an empty hut, two people lying down in nearby sleeping bags. Had someone already found this deserted place, or worse, had it never been deserted? Zodiac decided to slowly creep his way back outside the tent, and took refuge under a large stone structure in the middle of the encampment, getting shade from the blazing sun. He turned to start heading out, and try to head back to the forest, but was met instead with a light-haired face. "GAH!" Zodiac screamed as he leapt back.

"Shhh," whispered the face, which Zodiac now saw to be a full person. "You do NOT want to wake up Luke before he's ready. Who are you, anyway?" Zodiac now saw the person to be one of the two in sleeping bags from earlier, and stood up.

"I'm one of the people from the forest," whispered Zodiac. "I must have stumbled into this place, wherever it is. And you?"

"My name's Yomiko. I just so happen to be second in command in the Order of Thieves, whose base camp you are currently in."

At this comment, Zodiac turned completely pale, remembering Felix and Leo's advice on the thieves. Though this one in front of him didn't seem very mean or nasty, he was sure it was just a matter of time before the rest woke up.

"Ok, look. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, and I'm sorry for what I'm about to ask, but would you mind taking me...anywhere other than here? I would prefer not to die today."

"Oh, no, Luke wouldn't order you dead. Unless you called him 'Luke.' Or 'Loon.' Or really anything other than Lucien."

A voice came from inside the large hut. "Hey! Yomiko!" It was a booming voice, somewhat deep and very menacing, and it sent chills down Zodiac's spine.

"Yes, Luke?" Responded Yomiko, ignoring his own advice.

"SHHHH!" Zodiac whispered harshly at Yomiko, hoping that the thief will remember that he's not supposed to be there.

"Where are you, and who are you talking to?"

"I'm outside by the fountain! There's a person here who says he's from the-MPH!" Yomiko was interrupted by Zodiac, who had covered his mouth. "What was that for?"

"Will you be quiet? I'm not supposed to be here, remember?" whispered Zodiac, scolding Yomiko.

"Oh, don't worry. As long as I say you're okay, I'm pretty sure he won't kill you."

"Pretty sure?"

"What was that?" yelled out the voice again.

"I said I'm outside, by the fountain, with someone from the forest!"

The bearer of the voice finally made an appearance, stepping out of his hut. He wore a dark jacket that went down to his feet, black pants and hiking boots, and a black shirt. His hair, too, was pitch black, and overall he looked very similar to Felix, but with blood-red eyes. On his back was a large scythe, modified for battle.

"A forest dweller? Out here? We haven't had one of those since that new leader of theirs came to power. Let me look at him." Yomiko pulled Zodiac out from behind the fountain and shoved him towards 'Luke.' "Hmm." Lucien inspected Zodiac, darting around him, lifting limbs, tilting his head, and making Zodiac feel thoroughly uncomfortable. "Yes, alright. What's your name?"

"Z-Zodiac." he stumbled, terrified.

"Zodiac... hmm... where do I know that name from?" Lucien was drifting a little, but snapped his head back to Zodiac. "How did you get here?"

"I-I, um, I was hunting... in the forest, I mean. It got dark, I got lost, and fell out through the trees. I stumbled through the desert for a while, the whole night, and eventually saw this camp." Zodiac remembered why he had gone to this camp in the first place. "By the way, do you have any water around here? I was traveling through the desert for a really long time."

"Oh, yeah, sure. But later. First, a few more questions. What were you doing when the two beams of light appeared?"

"What beams of light?"

"The ones in the sky. They landed in two regions. They were huge, bright, and appeared somewhat destructive. They showed up three days ago, and then disappeared."

Zodiac thought for a while before responding. "I can't remember. I must have hit my head or something, because honestly, I can't remember anything from before that time."

"Really?" Lucien seemed shocked, his eyes widening, and he turned away. "Alright, that will be all. You have five minutes to leave before the rest of the thieves wake up. They do not respond well to intruders, and I will do nothing to stop them if they attack you. In fact, I may join in. Do not take my slight compliance of Yomiko's wishes to not have you killed immediately as kindness, or acceptance that you are here. Thank you for your cooperation, and get the hell out of my camp."

"But what about the wat-"

Lucien turned around, glaring at Zodiac, his eyes burning through his head.

"You have four minutes. I suggest you get out of here before I lose my patience and wake my men up early."

"Y-Yes sir!" Zodiac immediately turned around, dashing through the desert, hoping to find the forest once again.

* * *

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Esmond stirred from his sleep to find Jade standing over him, shaking his shoulders.

"Wake up, Esmond! It's already noon! You're late!"

Jade walked away, and began doing something. Esmond continued to look at the ceiling, still groggy and wondering where he was.

"Ugh... where am I?" Asked the still half-asleep Esmond.

"You're in your room, in the castle, and you need to get up already! You're late for the meeting!"

"I don't do meetings," said the sleeper. "Tell them I'm not going to be there."

"Tell them yourself," replied Jade. "I'll pull you out of bed if I have to."

"Ehhh..." grumbled Esmond.

Jade then stopped whatever it was she was doing, grabbed him by the legs, and yanked him out of bed, displacing his covers, and throwing all of the things on his bed across the room.

Esmond, recovering from this recent shock, rubbed his head and looked up at his assailant. "Oww... What the hell, Jade? That hurt! I could've dislocated a shoulder!"

"But you didn't. Now get up, you've got a meeting with the king."

At this, Esmond jumped up, throwing on some clothes and sprucing himself up for his first meeting with the king since he crashed through the roof.

"Wait a minute," he questioned, "Where did all of these clothes come from? and this brush?"

"You were asleep for a really long time, so a few servants came in and got you some clothes, as well as everything you'll need for your time with us."

"Wait, they got me clothes? How did they know what size I was?"

"They checked the clothes you passed out in, recorded the measurements, and bought some new ones. More fitting for your new position."

"New position?"

"Didn't you know? You're going to be made a noble, equal in stature to the king's son, if he had one."

"Is that what the meeting is about?"

"Most likely. That, and discussing why you weren't just thrown in jail."

"Well, I'd better get down there. See ya!" With that, Esmond rushed out of the room and down the hall, leaving Jade bewildered.

"Wow, what a change. One minute he was lying in bed asleep, and now he's rushing down with speed that would make the guard jealous." Jade muttered to herself.

* * *

"Yes, my liege?" asked Esmond, now out of breath.

"Ah, finally! Hello, Esmond, it's nice to finally see you outside of rubble." replied the king, who was sitting in his throne.

"Right, sorry about that. How are the repairs going?"

"They're coming along well. But that's not what I brought you here to talk about."

"Then what do you need, my king?"

"Oh please, stop being so formal! Just call me Al, or Alex, if it pleases you. I brought you here to speak about your future in this kingdom, and to clear a few things up. First, do you have any questions?"

"Yes, I do. I was mainly wondering, after I crashed through your roof, almost killing you and your court, why was I not thrown directly into jail, or more likely, executed?"

"Ah, yes, about that," replied the king. "I'm sure you've heard something about a prophecy during your adventures through the town?"

Esmond thought back to his time going through the town, and further, remembering that Jade had told him about a prophecy soon after he woke up. "Yes, I remember hearing something about that."

"Well, that prophecy explains your question. You see, that same prophecy has been in place for several hundred years, but has never been fulfilled." The king stood up, and began walking over to a fancily engraved wall. "It states that two beings shall come into our world. One shall have eyes that oppose each other, and the other," he said, looking to Esmond, "is a being of purest white."

"So, because I've got white hair and pale skin, that leads you to believe that I may be the second being?"

"Precisely. And the reason you are so important lies in the second half." The king turned back to the wall. "It states that 'these two beings shall come together to defeat a great evil that has plagued our world before.' That, most likely, is referring to the ancient beings known now as 'Dargons.' Do you follow?" He turned once more to Esmond.

"Yes, mostly. But what I don't know of are these 'Dargons,' as you called them. What relevance do they have in all of this?"

"It makes sense that you don't know what they are. Nobody in the kingdom does, with the exception of this castle. The Dargons are ancient beings that once ruled over this planet. Nobody knows where they had come from, but it is told that they were extremely powerful. They defeated legions with a swipe of their claws, and took power as terrible beings, bringing in dragons from the mountainous region to help keep order. It was a terrible existence. The dragons treated our people like slaves, forcing them to work on huge statues in honor of the Dargons. However, all of a sudden, the Dargons disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Nobody, not even the dragons, saw them go, but the humans knew now that they had a chance. Led by four major leaders, the people separated into military groups and took up arms against the dragons that were left, slaughtering them with the statues that the people had been forced to build. Soon, the dragons fled oce again to the mountains, never to return. The people began a period of peace, working together to rebuild what the Dargons had taken away from them. Each leader took their group and travelled to different regions, which we know today as the desert, the Thieves, the Forest, and our Kingdom. The lands prospered without the presence of dragons, and every single citizen was happy."

The king paused, prompting Esmond to speak. "So, about this prophecy..."

"Right. Of course. What do you need to know?" asked the king.

"Have you found the other person? The one with the eyes?"

"I believe so, yes. This particular gentleman lives in a neighbouring kingdom, and should be arriving to visit us right about now! There he is!" A tall man was standing at the entrance to the throne room, staring at Esmond. His attire was a bit odd, sporting a black dress shirt and pants topped by a dark red coat, with a fedora of similar color. His hair was a dirty blonde, and his eyes were blue and red, so it was no doubt that he was an able candidate for the other savior. "Hello, come on in!" The man advanced into the room, bumping into Esmond as he walked by, as if on purpose.

"Hello, your Majesty! How are you this afternoon? Everything is well, I would hope?" His voice was very sly, and he spoke with a tone of superiority.

"Yes, of course! I am well. I hope you've already acquainted yourself with the castle? No rough spots on your way to the castle?"

"I have, and only one. We ran into a few bandits, probably runaways from that group of thieves. We took care of them easily, but I would suggest you do something about that leader of theirs. He's becoming quite dangerous."

"That is unfortunate, but I won't start anything immediately. I can have a talk with him about his men's behavior, if that would satisfy you."

"It would. Thank you." The man looked over at Esmond. "And who is this young fellow with the white hair? A friend of yours?"

"Somewhat," replied the King. "He crashed into my meeting room a few days ago, when those pillars of light appeared. I would have had him arrested immediately, but looking at him closely, I believe he may be one of the two from this prophecy," he said, motioning towards the wall. "Hopefully he will be able to defe-"

The man was chuckling by now, and interrupted the king. "You truly believe him to be a man of prophecy?"

The king stood, looking at him, astonished. "Yes, I do. Why, do you have doubts regarding my decision?"

"Well, I mean..." The man was at a loss of words, flustered and intimidated by the king. "No, it's just... he seems a bit... small."

"Hm." The king backed away from him, turning to look again at Esmond. " I guess you have a bit of a point there, but I have no doubt he will be able to help us. Now, since that's out of the way..."

"Um, sir?" The king had stepped closer to Esmond, glaring at Lance over him. Esmond had been backing down a bit, but now stood back up, looking at the king. "You still haven't really introduced us."

"Hm? Oh, yes. Well, you're fully capable of saying your own names. Introduce yourselves, I have work to do!" The king replied, exiting the room.

The two left stood there for a moment before turning to each other. "I'm Esmond. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"And I," said the man, "Am Lance. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, before you leave," Esmond had begun to walk out, but Lance grabbed him by the arm. "I noticed that the king has taken quite a liking to you. I would like you to know that I have been trying to gain his fortune for years, and if anyone, and I mean anyone," he moved slowly closer to Esmond, glaring a hole through his skull, "gets in my way, they WILL regret it. Understand?"

"Y-yes, I believe so." On this, Lance let go of Esmond, and began to exit.

"Good." confirmed Lance. "Goodbye, Mr. Hero." With this, He disappeared into the castle, leaving Esmond, shivering, in the hallway, and wondering what his next move would be from here.

* * *

After stumbling through the desert for what felt like a few hours, Zodiac finally caught a glimpse of some vegetation in the distance. "Finally," he thought, as he stumbled over, hoping to re-enter his forest. "Shade..." Dehydrated and exhausted, he broke through the line of trees and into the now familiar forest. He continued to tumble through the forest, heading whatever way he thought would return him to the encampment. In what felt like an instant, the sun grew to be high in the sky, and he, not looking where he was going, tripped on a stray branch and toppled into a clearing.


	3. Chapter 3

It was very late in the kingdom of Zerrent. The shops had closed, the streets had gone dark, and all of the citizens were asleep in their homes. All except Esmond. He was lying in his bed, thinking about what had occurred that day, and how much he had to take in. He had been in this kingdom for only two days, and yet had already become a noble, learned that he was supposed to save the planet, and received an ominous message directly from a likely heir to the king. The part that truly got to him was what Lance had said.

If anyone gets in my way, they WILL regret it.

Esmond shivered in his covers. If he was to become heir, or show any signs of taking precedence over Lance, the man would undoubtedly become his enemy. Troubled by this, Esmond got up, and decided that he would take a walk, wandering through the halls of the castle. He walked down the stairs from the chambers to the main hall, and continued over to the barracks. No one was there, so Esmond went inside, looking at all of the training equipment for the guards and finding the entrance to the dungeon. He veered away from there, and headed back to the main hall, intent on visiting the throne room and going back to sleep. However, as he walked, he noticed a light coming from the meeting room, where, as Jade had told him, the king held meetings with the guards about security measures, Aurora about new inventions and, when it was called for, strategic planning for military actions. Esmond stood up against the wall and inched closer, and he could begin to hear voices coming from inside.

An unfamiliar voice spoke. "We'll head out tomorrow, at night, and see if we can't teach them something about interfering with our squads. That way, we can slip out unnoticed, and keep out of trouble with the guards."

"Good idea." Another voice. Angry. "And who knows, maybe we'll run into that one punk that messed with us last time. Make him pay for the way he humiliated us last time."

"Don't get caught up with revenge on some little brat," a third voice, this one sounding more collected. "Stick to our original plan. We'll set up here." Esmond heard a hand hit paper. "A squad passes by each night, and we should be able to catch them by surprise. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring them back here for further questioning, and find out more about this new leader of theirs."

"Exactly." This voice sounded much more familiar.

Esmond thought he knew who it was, but wanted to confirm his suspicion. He began to peek his head around the corner to check.

"You all heard him. Jack, you and Abel go get the supplies." The same voice.

"Yes, sir!" The two voices that had first spoken.

A couple of chairs were pushed, and a door opened and closed soon after.

"Charles, you go make sure of the schedules of the guards. I don't want any complications for us going out or coming back in."

A new voice piped up. "Alright."

Esmond heard someone get up out of a chair. Footsteps headed towards the exit in his direction. He had just about gotten far enough to see who was giving orders, but now he darted back against the wall, and Charles passed by, luckily turning the other way. He waited until he was sure that he was safe, then poked his head back around the wall, looking into the room.

The last two continued to talk.

"Are you sure about this? What we're doing?" The composed one began.

"Of course. Why? Are you beginning to have doubts?" The familiar one responded.

"No, no. It's just that... what we're doing. You know what'll happen, right?"

"Yes. I'm fully aware of the consequences. But I need to do this. If we succeed, think of what'll happen! We'll gain the king's favor for sure, and improve the lives of everyone!"

"But we'll be starting a war! The forest will confront the kingdom, and people will get hurt!"

"I understand that. And that's exactly what we need for us to rise, Chris. A few people will get hurt, yes, but everyone afterwards will benefit!"

Esmond was able to see the two now. Chris was facing towards him, looking down, and the other was facing the opposite direction, looking up. Chris was the shorter of the two, and wore the clothes of a noble servant. He had dark brown hair and a young-looking face, with hazel eyes. The other man had dark blonde hair and was wearing a familiar dark red suit.

The man grabbed Chris's face gently, and moved it so that they were looking at each other. "It'll be alright. Nothing bad will happen to you, I promise." He let go of Chris and turned towards the exit. Esmond looked at his face, seeing the distinct features of a man he had seen earlier that day.

"So, Lance?" Chris asked.

"Yes?" Lance turned back to Chris, cheer in his voice.

"What are we going to do about him?" Chris lifted his hand and pointed directly at Esmond, who had forgotten to duck back behind the wall.

Esmond, realizing that he had been caught, simply uttered an "Oh my," as Lance walked towards him in a threatening manner.

"This one," said Lance, towering over Esmond, "shall keep completely quiet. Not say a word."

He got very close to Esmond, staring him directly in the eyes.

"If not, then when I become king," Lance boomed, "I will make sure to make his life and those of the people around him very, very unpleasant. Alright?"

Esmond could only nod, as the rest of him was frozen in fear.

"Good. Now, Chris," Lance turned back to his companion, "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. All three of us should get some rest."

With that, the two cohorts walked out of the room and up to the chambers, with Esmond soon to follow suit.

* * *

The next morning arrived, and Esmond, after a pretty rough sleep, woke up. Looking around, he saw that the sun was shining through the window opposite the door. He stood up and walked over, looking over the kingdom in which he now resided. From this and his other excursions, he determined that the castle was in a central city filled with noblemen and shopkeepers, and that city was surrounded by towns over which the king's personal court ruled. He learned from Jade that each of the eight towns were governed by one of eight nobles, and that the nobles each reported monthly to the king. The towns gave a certain quantity of crops and supplies each year, and whenever they were needed, the king would distribute enough for the town to survive that month. The first time they tried this, the crops spoiled, and a light drought caused a few of the towns to go hungry. However, when Aurora came, he fixed this issue by inventing a chilled room in which the food could be stored. This allowed for storage of more perishable materials than wheat and grains, giving meat, fruits and vegetables the chance to join in the reserves. It was a good system, and helped keep everyone from panicking in the event of some disaster.

Esmond decided to get dressed and explore this kingdom of whom he was the supposed savior. He put on a dark blue ruffled shirt and black dress pants, which he had been given by the king. This outfit contrasted greatly with himself, for he had pure white hair and very pale skin, but he decided it looked better than the other outfits, which were so extravagant and showy that they were harsh to the eyes, especially in sunlight. He opened the door to the hall, walking out and down the stairs to the main hall. He hadn't had time to look around much before without being rushed to some other activity, and so took his time in walking around and seeing what there was to see. This hall he stood in was massive, with a floor and pillars made of white marble. The walls were covered with banners, facing themselves on the opposite wall and displaying one of the nine crests, each representing one of the noble families and the king's. In between each of these banners were suits of armor of various materials: gold, iron, steel, a couple of dark leather, and the center four were made of an odd, light blue metal of which Esmond had never seen. The hall began at the front gate of the castle and ended at the throne room, with a large red carpet with golden trims running the whole length. By the entrance of the throne room were the entrances to a few branching halls, one leading to the chambers where Esmond had just arrived from, and the other heading towards the meeting room and armory, where he had seen Lance the night before. By the entrance and before the banners were a collection of entrances that led to places Esmond had yet to be.

Esmond headed for the exit, tipping an imaginary hat to the guard, and strolled into town. Once outside, he stopped for a moment, wondering where he might go first. He ended up deciding to go to the market and look around to see if anything interested him. Wandering though the wide streets of the capital, Esmond arrived at his destination, stopping only to look at a statue of a man on a horse, likely a war hero of sorts, but the inscription on the plaque at the base was too faded to read. Once at the market Esmond began browsing the shops, seeing everything from arms and armor to small pets and exotic foods. He came across one store that sold all sorts of odd bits, where he found a loop of jewels that were nearly blinding.

The shopkeeper, a somewhat aged woman with one arm much Smaller than the other, walked over to him, noticing what he was browsing. "Oh, that's a good one. Crystals just came in from the southern mining facility. It would make a lovely present for just about anyone, especially a young lady."

Esmond looked at the woman, taking his eyes off of the necklace for a moment. "How much are they?" He asked.

"Only 1200 silver ayer. That's quite low, considering the quality of the cut."

Esmond reached into his pockets, realizing now that he hadn't brought a single coin. He didn't want to mooch off of the king's generosity, and besides, by the time he got back they might be gone. However, he was determined to buy this, as it would make a lovely present to the princess who had introduced him so kindly to the kingdom.

"I seem to have forgotten all of my money at home," he said, watching as the woman's kind expression turned to one of aggravation. "However, I would really like to buy these jewels. Is there some other way I could pay for them?"

The woman examined Esmond, who she saw was quite desperate to get the item. She started thinking of kicking him out, for he had no way to pay, but instead decided to take pity on this young man, who appeared to be good-intentioned.

"There is one thing you can do," she said, raising Esmond's spirits. "I have a son in the town to the northwest. He's been working since he was a young boy, helping to mine some of the gems you see here. He's always dreamed of visiting the capital and becoming a royal guard, helping to protect the peace of the kingdom."

"He sounds like a wonderful young man," Esmond told her as she paused for a moment.

"He is. Now, I know that you're that hero kid from the great prophecy, and that you're in high regard with the king. What I'd like to ask you is that you help him fulfill that dream, helping him get to the castle and perhaps giving a recommendation to the guard captain and the king. The ride over should allow you to get to know him, so you can make sure I'm not just telling stories to make him sound good. If you can do that," she said, walking over to a desk and pulling out a crystal," I'll give you that necklace, and even throw this in for free."

Esmond stood up and looked at this old woman who was holding a crystal towards him. The crystal was a very deep blue color, and cut extremely finely, made of some material that was so pure you could see almost right through the thing. It was definitely quite expensive, and Esmond could tell that she really wanted to help her son, as if it were some final goal she had.

"Alright," he said, looking her in the eye. "I'll do everything in my power to help him."

* * *

Night began to fall in the forest, and Zodiac was just waking up. He sat up, disgruntled, and tried looking around.

"Ugh... What happened? How long have I been out?" He grumbled. "Man, my head is killing me..."

He stood up slowly, checked himself to make sure he hadn't broken anything, and tried to remember what he had done that had put him here.

Let's see... I had been walking through the forest, ended up in a desert, and finally got back to this clearing... Then, I picked something up. A crystal? Yeah, that sounds about right. I picked it up, it started glowing or something, and some weird image popped into my mind. Yeah, that about sums it up.

He looked around to see if he could find the crystal, but saw nothing. He ended up deciding it wasn't really worth it, since it knocked him out last time he had seen it, and started walking into the brush once more to search for the camp.

He wandered around for what felt like an hour, working his way past the many bushes and branches that blocked his path, stopping once to kill a rabbit and store it in his pocket. Eventually he came across a large bush that looked like there wouldn't be an easy way around, as the bush had trees beside it, and beyond those were a ton of thorns. He was about to start plowing through the thorn bushes, preparing for the weeks of finding painful little pokers in his pants, when he heard a rustling coming from the other side of the bush. He tried pushing his way through the bush, ending in the same consequences as if he had trudged through the thorns, and poked his head out the other side. He looked for the cause of the rustling, and saw a group of men wearing the same uniforms as those who had attacked James a few days ago. There were five of them this time, but one of them wore a different getup, this one with a crown in the center of the chest and some strange symbol just below it. He looked important, and Zodiac could tell that he had something to do with the kingdom.

Zodiac waited in the bush, watching them until they passed by his bush. He popped out of the bush once he was sure they wouldn't be able to hear him, and followed them for a while until they stopped by a group of four trees growing within very close proximity of one another. One of the men, a somewhat small guy with dark brown hair, muttered something to the crown man, and the group went in between the trees, stopping.

Zodiac stopped for a moment, making sure that they weren't continuing, before climbing up a tree and jumping to a branch just above the group. Zodiac hopped down, grabbing the branch with his hands, and dangling just in front of who he presumed to be the leader of this exposition, startling the lot of them.

"Sorry to drop in, but I was wandering around, and wondering what you guys are doing in this forest. You lost or something?" He asked innocently.

The leader, after gaining his senses, looking over to the young man beside him, and looking back to this crazy tree-dweller after receiving a gesture of confusion, stared at his interruption for a while, before replying innocently, "Yes, I'm afraid we are. We just wandered into this forest, unaware of where we were headed, and unfortunately have no idea where we are. Sorry if we're intruding."

"Oh, no, not at all! Now, let me see if I can help. Do you have a map, or at least any piece of paper and some way of writing?"

"N-no, I'm afraid not. We just started walking, not planning on any sort of trip, and got quite lost-"

"Wait, if you have no paper, then what's this?" Asked Zodiac, holding a list he grabbed from one of the men. He was hanging upside down now, holding onto the branch with the toes of his shoes.

"Oh, it seems as though we did have some-" Lance attempted to explain, hoping that this woodland person couldn't read.

"Hmm... '9:30 PM, night hunting group departs,' '10:30 PM, night hunting group returns, night watch departs'... This looks like a schedule for our encampment! Now what would a group from the kingdom be doing with this?" Zodiac had been reading from the piece of paper he had grabbed.

"How do you know we're from the kingdom? And what are you doing to him?" The crown man was getting flustered as Zodiac searched one of his men.

"And if you're on an unplanned trip," asked Zodiac, dropping down and grabbing a sword from the sheath of the person he had dropped behind, "Why are you armed?"

The leader, fed up with all of this interrogation, finally lost his temper. "Alright, fine! We're not lost, we're not just passing through, and you are coming with us!"

At this, the whole group (exceeding the one who's sword was taken) pulled out their swords, prepared to strike at their target. Quickly, Zodiac jumped up onto the branch from which he had descended, evading the blows of his assailants all the while. He looked around, looking for some way to quickly outsmart these opponents. At first, he thought of killing them, dispatching them immediately, but realized both that this would hurt relations with the kingdom and that Leo may want to interrogate them personally, so instead he came up with an idea to trap them near the encampment overnight. He climbed over to a nearby tree and dropped down, close enough for them to see, and threw a rock at them to get their attention before running off towards the camp. He weaved through the bushes and branches gracefully, making few mistakes, whereas his trackers kept plowing through, knocking past everything in their path. One of them smashed into a tree, getting up seconds after to continue his chase.

Zodiac realized that he would be unable to outsmart all of them, regardless of their intelligence, and instead, upon seeing the camp, ran inside and simply called to Leo, who came out to see what the ruckus was about. He walked out, seeing Zodiac running towards him frantically, followed by a group of odd men. He called out to the rest of the camp, ordering them to attack, and the five guys now found themselves with fifty people instead of the one, and were very quickly overpowered and captured.

As they were pinned down, Leo walked over to them, staring each of them in the eye. He walked down the line, eventually arriving at the crown man, and stood over him, his glare boring into the back of his head as his face was towards the ground.

"Look up, and get on your knees," Leo ordered, and the man did as he was told. "Who are you, and why are you in my forest?"

The man stayed staring, remaining silent. Nothing was heard but the sounds of the forest.

"Alright, I'll ask you again," Leo growled, getting much closer to the man, nearly touching him. When he spoke, he did so loudly, and forcefully. "Who are you, and why are you in my forest? You have nothing to lose from answering. I only want to return you home. Now answer me."

The man looked around, not able to see through the darkness of the night, and focused again on the person in front of him. "My name," he spoke, "Is Lance. I am a noble from the kingdom of Zerrent, and come not on the king's orders, but my own. I wish only to gain the king's favor and become his heir, in a tradition that has been passed on for ages."

"Spare me the details on tradition. I know already of your method of choosing rulers. I simply wish to know why you seek the king's favor in this forest." Leo began pacing in front of Lance's squad. "There is nothing for you here but enmity, especially when you invade during the truce set on by your own king. However, I doubt you will elaborate on your plans, and instead shall simply give you passage home." Leo stopped in front of Lance once more, and turned his head to the left. "Zodiac!"

Zodiac jumped at the mention of his name. "Yes, Leo?"

"You are to gather a small group, up to four others, and lead these men back to their kingdom. Go up to the castle, and return them to the gate. Be careful not to let anyone see you; we don't want the king thinking that we roughed up his precious noble." He turned back to Lance and stared him down. "And I'm sure our guests wouldn't want it known that they were sneaking around in the forest when they were warned against it. Right?"

Lance's only response was a silent snarl as his hands were bound along with his comrades, and they were handed over to Zodiac, who had picked up James and two other warriors, one a woman named Luca, who carried twin axes and a sword, and an older man named Marco, who insisted on following her and carried only a bow. Zodiac and Marco led the entourage, while James and Luca followed behind the captured group. They headed out of the encampment and into the forest, and started on their way to the kingdom.


End file.
